THE  AMERICAN  VOTER 
AS  A  LAWMAKER 


An  Examination  of  the  Initiative  and 
Referendum  Elections  of  1922 


m 
If- 


By 

JUDSON  KING 

Director  of  the  NatioTial  Popular  Government  League 


The  most  fundamental  problem  before  us  today  is 
to  find  an  adequate  method  of  getting  the  facts  to  the 
folks.  It  is  needed  quite  as  much  to  expose  dema- 
gogues in  both  high  and  low  places,  and  to  forestall 
short-sighted  reforms,  as  to  prevent  stagnation  or  re- 
action. The  people  are  getting  more  power.  More 
knowledge  must  go  with  it. 


Published  by 

The  National  Popular  Government  League 
637  Munsey  Building         Washington,  D.  C. 

Price  10  Cents 


,.....::.!;•..■ 


THE  AMERICAN  VOTER  AS  A  LAWMAKER 
An  Examination  of  the  Initiative  and  Referendum  Elections  of  1922 

Whoever  being  a  liberal,  hopeful  of  progress;  a  conservative,  fright- 
ened of  radicalism;  a  political  scientist,  pondering  the  safety  of  demo- 
cratic action;  an  expert,  contemptuous  of  mass  intelligence;  a  states- 
man, planning  constructive  reform ;  or  a  politician,  scanning  the  horizon 
for  votes,  will  do  well  to  study  the  measures,  and  the  vote  thereon, 
submitted  in  the  Initiative  and  Referendum  states  at  the  general  election 
nine  months  ago. 

The  fact  that  some  7,000,000  voters  in  16  widely  scattered  states  from 
Massachusetts  to  California  actually  legislated  upon  135  statute  laws 
and  constitutional  amendments,  is  an  item  not  to  be  overlooked  by  a 
person  desiring  to  know  the  real  status  of  public  opinion  at  this  period. 

It  is  one  thing  to  vote  with  a  political  party  or  for  a  popular  candi- 
date; is  quite  another  to  vote  upon  a  concrete  measure  set  down  in 
specific  black  and  white.  Here  the  American  voter  is  deprived  of  his 
favorite  pastime  of  blaming  some  one  else  for  his  woes.  He  must  face 
tlie  consequences  of  his  own  legislative  act.  There  is  nothing  like  a 
vote  upon  a  bond  issue  or  a  law  to  disclose  actual  public  opinion. 

The  20  states  which  now^  have  the  Initiative  and  Referendum,  in  more 
or  less  workable  forms,  comprise  one-third  of  the  population  and  area 

of  the  United  States.  From  1904 
GREATEST  TEST  IN  HISTORY  to  1923,  over  550  measures— a/i 
OF  DIRECT  DEMOCRACY  average  of  less  than  5  to  each  state 

election — have  been  placed  on  the 
l)allot  by  popular  petitions,  in  addition  to  442  measures  submitted  by 
the  legislatures. 

Amazing  as  it  may  seem,  no  comprehensive  survey  of  this  greatest 
experiment  in  direct  democracy  the  Avorld  has  as  yet  seen,  has  been 
made,  or  at  least  been  made  public.  It  contains  invaluable  lessons  for 
conservatives  and  progressives  alike,  especially  for  those  who  conceive 
high  hopes  for  the  safety  of  constructive  democracy. 

This  bulletin  d^als  with  the  state-wide  elections  of  1922.     Of  the 
135  measures  submitted,  42  were  proposed  b>'  Initiative  petition,  62  by 
the  state  legislatures,  and  31  were  acts  passed  by  the 
86  TIMES  legislatures  and  '^^ carried  back,"  as  the  Swiss  say, 

PROGRESSIVE ;       by  Referendum  petition  to  the  voters  for  final  de- 
23  TIMES  cision.    It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  business  men 

CONSERVATIVE  —chiefly  Big  Business  men— initiated  12  measures 
and  had  4  statutes  referred.  Of  the  135  measures, 
tlie  voters  enacted  38  and  rejected  97.  Finally,  on  the  109  measures 
which  clearly  required  a  decision  on  matters  of  important  public  policy, 
the  electors  voted  progressively  86  times,  and  conservatively  23  times. 

3 

528N75 


■! 


BACK  OF  THE  \X[  MARK 


The  tally  upon  the  6,991,000  plus  ballots  actually  cast  on  these  135 
measures y  indicates  that  the  Average  American  Voter  was  murmuring 
something  like  this  in  the  ballot  box: 


To  the  Old  Guard 
Politicians 

To  Popular 

Government 

Advocates 

To  the  State 
Legislators 

To  Public 
Ownership  Men 

To  Private 
Utility  Men 

To  Tax  Reformers 
and  Tax  Fixers 

To  Moral 
Reformers 

To  Better  School 
Advocates 

To  War 
Veterans 


To  the  Doctors 
and  Lawyers 


And  the  Women 
Voters  Said  in 
Particular 


*'No,  you  can't  take  from  me  my  new  tools  of 
self-oovernment,  nor  will  I  swear  you  my  'Party 
Affiliations'  and  be  bound  by  you." 

''If  you  can  show  me  that  your  new  scheme  will 
work,  be  more  efficient,  produce  less  'politics,'  and 
be  one  I  can  control,  I  '11  give  it  a  try. ' ' 

"No,  I  won't  raise  your  salaries,  at  least  until 
you  pay  better  attention  to  my  business  and  'rep- 
resenf'the  90%  as  well  as  the  10%." 

"No,  I'm  not  yet  ready  to  embark  upon  state- 
wide public  ownership  projects." 

"No,  you  shall  not  destroy  or  cripple  the  mu- 
nicipal utilities  I  now  own  and  operate.  Give  them 
a  chance.    They  are  doing  very  nicely." 

'  *  No,  I  'm  not  taking  any  chances  on  new  schemes 
of  taxation  this  year,  nor  do  I  propose  to  take  on 
any  heavier  load." 

"I  am  against  race  track  gambling,  but  I  don't 
want  too  much  censoring  of  the  movies,  and  I  want 
to  go  to  a  baseball  game  on  Sunday  if  I  choose." 

"Yes,  I'll  pay  for  better  schools  if  I  can  afford 
it ;  if  not  you  will  have  to  wait  a  while. ' ' 

"I'm  hit  hard  but  I'll  dig  down  and  help  out 
you  boys  to  any  reasonable  extent — but  don't  ask 
too  much." 

"No  closed  shop  for  either  of  you.  I'll  give  the 
new  school  doctors  an  even  br^ak  with  the  old 
scliool.  w^th  good  wishes  to  both.  As  to  the 
lawyers — I  have  not  noticed  that  they  have  been 
my  friends  to  any  greater  degree  than  the 
bankers." 

"We  want  all  school  children  to  have  a  better 
chance  and  an  equal  chance.  We  don't  fancy  party 
conventions;  the  ballot  box  is  much  nicer  and 
more  conducive  to  clear  thinking,  and  better  citizen- 
ship." 


And  that  night  as  Mr.  and  Mi*s.  Average  Voter  talked  things  over 
at  the  supper  table  I  surmise  the  husband  said  something  like  this : 
''Mary,  there's  something  dead  wrong  in  our  country  down  deep.  I 
don't  see  just  what  it  is,  but  I  know  it  has  to  do  with  what  the  pro- 
fessors call  'economics/  It's  deeper  than  party  politics.  In  fact  I've 
been  thinking  this  a  long  time  and  have  made  up  my  mind  that  our 
parties  have  become  masks  behind  which  the  Big  Business  fellows 
work,  run  the  game  and  get  what  they  want.  I'm  so  darn  busy  earn- 
ing a  living  that  I  don't  get  time  or  have  strength  to  study  much. 
There's  all  kinds  of  propaganda — standpat  and  radical — half  the  time 
I  can't  depend  on  the  papers  and  don't  know  who  or  what  to  trust. 
But  if  these  old  party  fellows  don't  soon  do  something  I  can  feel 
in  my  pocket  and  in  the  price  of  food  and  rent,  I'm  going  to  kick  over 
the  traces.  They  can  shout  Bolshevism  and  chase  themselves.  Here 
I'm  getting  $3,600  a  year  and  we  can't  send  Arthur  and  Pauline  to 
college." 

And  Mary  asked,  *'Wlien  are  you  going  to  begin,  John?" 
And  John  replied,  "Watch  my  vote  next  year,  if ." 

WHAT  KIND  OF  LAWS 

A  rough  classification  shows  that  as  to  subject  matter,  the  meas- 
ures submitted  in  1922  fall  under  25  different  heads  and  include  the 
most  vital  problems  now  engaging  the  public.  Checking  up  the  class 
measures  receiving  the  most  legislative  attention,  we  find  that : 

43  relate  to  changes  in  the  structure  or  process  of  government 

and  political  action; 
17  were  proposed  changes  in  taxation  or  the  taxation  system; 
12  related  to  regulation  or  ownership  of  public  utilities; 
7  were  concerned  with  education  and  the  public  schools. 
Other  subjects  were  good  roads,  soldiei*s'  welfare,  prohibition, 
professions,  public  health,  etc.,  etc. 

STRUCTURE  OF  GOVERNMENT 

Turning  now  to  the  first  group,  let  me  anticipate  a  very  natural 
inquiry  as  to  who  proposed  those  43  changes  in  the  political  system. 
The  answer  is  that  40  of  them  originated  with  the  legislatures  and 
3  were  by  initiative  petition. 

To  get  a  proper  perspective,  let  us  recall  that  some  three  years  ago, 
a  powerful  group  of  conservatives,  including  some  prominent  United 
States  Senators,  Secretary  of  War  Weeks,    and    Attorney    General 
Daugherty,  started  a  movement  to  rid  the  countiy  of  the  direct  priA 
mary,  the  I.  &  R.,  and  other  forms  of  popular  political  control. 

Bulletin  No.  79,  issued  by  this  League  last  year,  entitled  "The  Old 
Guard  and  the  Direct  Primary,"  gives  an  account  of  this  effort.  We 
offered  to  aid  the  Old  Guard  in  abolishing  the  primary,  advised  that 
that  there  should  be  no  attempt  to  return  to  the  convention  system, 
but  that  we  should  substitute  for  the  needless  and  expensive  direct 


primary,  the  modern,  scientific  system  of  Proportional  Eepresentation. 
combining  both  elections  in  one  with  far  more  satisfactory  results 
to  the  people. 

Many  legislatures,  however,  and  several  in  the  states  we  are  con- 
sidering, evidently  believed  that  the  Old  Guard  had  rightly  diag- 
nosed public  opinion,  that  the  people,  "wear}^  of  looting  on  men  and 
measures,"  were  readj^  to  return  to  the  convention  system  and  to  what 
was  termed  ' '  representative  government. ' '  Also  that  they  would  approve 
other  things  giving  political  parties  greater  advantage  and  power. 
It  was  announced  that  even  the  Newberry  election  scandal  would  be 
laid  at  the  door  of  the  Direct  Primary. 

We  shall  find  what  happened  to  this  movement  at  the  hands  of 
the  voters.  We  may  note  also  that  the  popular  government  move- 
ment, held  in  abeyance  by  the  war,  will  also  be  in  evidence  and  claim 
the  voters'  attention. 

Throughout  the  Bulletin  the  gist  of  each  measure  voted  will  be 
briefly  given  with  its  sponsors,  wherever  possible,  the  vote  for  and 
against,  and  the  percentage  of  the  vote  cast  upon  the  measure,  as  com- 
pared with  the  vote  for  Governor.  The  word  ''amendment"  refers  to  an 
amendment  of  the  state  constitution. 

ARIZONA. — The  legislature  of  Arizona  submitted  at  the  primary  elec- 
tion of  September  12,  an  amendment  eliminating  the  mandatory  pri- 
mary  from  the  constitution  and  empowering  the  legislature  to  provide 
for  the  nomination  of  candidates,  with  the  convention  system  manifestly 
ill  view.    It  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  26,302  to  7,774,  with  70%  voting. 

Also  four  amendments  changing  the  terms  of  all  state  and  county 
officers  from  two  to  four  years,  and  consolidating  the  county  and  state 
elections,  measures  greatly  desired  by  "vote  straight  party  ticket"  meiu 
were  defeated. 

NEBRASKA. — This  legislature,  more  wary,  repealed  only  that  part 
of  the  state  primary  law  requiring  the  election  of  delegates  to  party 
conventions,  and  provided  for  their  appointment  by  caucuses.  The  act 
was  promptly  held  up  by  Referendum  petition  and  was  defeated  bj'  a 
vote  of  208,261  to  95,494,  with  78%  voting. 

The  Nebraska  League  of  Women  Voters  fought  the  bill  vigorously 
and  their  two-page  argument,  signed  by  its  state  offieei's,  in  the  state 
publicity  pamphlet,  contained  this  sentence : 

"Women  voters  are  opposed  to  this  attempt  to  crip[)le  the  pri- 
mary because  voting  will  become  a  meaningless  ceremony  if  the 
control  of  the  parties  i)asses  from  the  voters  to  the  party  l)Osses." 

The  argument  supporting  the  act  had  this  sentence: 

"The  principal  opponents  to  this  measure  are  those  who  be- 
lieve in  class  or  group  government  as  opi)osed  to  the  typical 
American  system  of  representative  government  througli  })arty 
organization  responsibility. ' ' 

Signed  by   Chas.   A.   McCloud.     (Connections   not   given.) 


The  legislature  also  passed  an  act  requiring  all  rural  and  small  town 
voters  to  register  at  the  county  courthouse  and  declare,  or  refuse  to 
declare,  their  party  affiliations.  On  Referendum,  the  act  was  defeated 
195,068  to  106,314,'  with  77%  voting. 

WASHINGTON.— Kemembering  that  in  the  election  of  1916,  a  law, 
the  then  legislature  had  passed  crippling  the  direct  primary  and  re- 
establishing the  convention  system,  had  been  defeated 
NO  VOTE  ON  on  Referendum  by  a  vote  of  200,449  to  49,370.  The 
PRESIDENT?  1922  legislature  confined  its  activities  to  passing  an 
act  repealing  the  presidential  primary  law,  and  pro- 
viding for  the  nomination  of  presidential  electors  by  state  party  con- 
ventions, and  also  provided  for  local  and  state  ijarty  conventions. 
The  act  was  i-eferred  by  petition  and  defeated  140,299  to  57,324, 
with  71%  voting. 

The  Washington  legislature  was  also  intent  upon  a 
SWEAR  registration   law   requiring  the    voter    to    "solemnly 

*' POLITICAL     swear"  his  "Political  Faith"  both  when  registering 
FAITH"  and  at  the  ballot  box.     A  law  to  this  effect  was  re- 

ferred by  petition  and  defeated  by  a  vote  of  164,004  to 
60.593,  with  82%  voting.' 

SOUTH  DAKOTA.— To  invoke  Initiative  and  Referendum  in  this 
state  requires  on  each  a  petition  of  5%  of  the  qualified  electors.  The 
legislature  submitted  a  proposal  to  raise  the  requirement  to  15%,  and 
also  to  prohibit  the  gi^^ng  or  receiving  of  pay  for  circulating  petitions. 
Defeated  by  a  vote  of  96,201  to  49,019,  with  83%  voting. 

COLORADO. — The  legislature  submitted  two  amendments  establish- 
ing 4-year  terms  for  all  county  officers  and  for  the  Governor  and  all 
state  executive  officers.  Both  were  defeated  by  essentially  the  same 
vote — 105,000  to  37,000.  A  proposal  to  call  a  new  constitutional  con- 
vention was  defeated,  93,081  to  53,115. 

MISSOURI.— The  liegislature  of  1921,  Republican  for  the  first  time 
in  years,  passed  several  laws  consolidating  various  state  boards,  bureaus, 
and  commis.sions,  and  setting  up  new  agencies.  There  emerged  new 
State  Departments  of  Labor,  Agriculture,  Public  Welfare,  a  Budget 
System,  a  new  system  of  public  schools,  a  new  arrangement  of  con- 
gressional districts,  and  of  township  and  county  judicial  systems. 

The  Democratic  State  Central  Committee  secured  the  required  sig- 
natures of  70,000  voters  against  each  of  the  14  measures  and  they  were 

referred  to  the  voters.  It  is  the  first  time  in 
FlhST  REFERENDUM  the  history  of  the  American  use  of  the  I.  & 
INVOKED  BY  A  R.  that  a  political  partv,  as  such,  has  invoked 

POLITICAL  PARTY         the  Referendum. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  discuss  the  wisdom 
of  these  measures.  Their  announced  purpose  is  laudable.  Missouri,  and 
most  other  states,  can  benefit  by  a  simplified  system  of  government, 
exactlv  as  liave  so  manv  of  our  cities  through  the  Commission  Manaofer 


plan.  The  Republicans  asserted  they  had  "enacted  a  constructive  pro- 
gram and  laid  the  foundation  for  better  service  and  greater  economy 
to  the  people  of  the  state. ' '  The  Democrat^  asserted  the  measures  were 
grossly  unfair  and  were  for  "plain  partisan  purposes,"  since  a  large 
number  of  offices  held  by  elected  or  appointed  Democrats,  would  be 
vacated  and  then  filled  by  Republicans. 

Governor  Arthur  M.  Hyde,  Republican,  called  an  extra  session  of 
the  legislature  in  June,  1921,  shortly  after  the  petitions  were  filed,  and 
read  a  special  message,  heatedly  rebuking  the  Democrats  and  mak- 
ing a  violent  attack  upon  the  Initiative  and  Referendum  itself.  He  de- 
manded the  submission  to  the  voters  of  a  ''repeal  or  modification"  of 
the  I.  &  R.  section  of  the  constitution.  A  resolution  was  introduced 
ahoUshing  the  Referendum,  but  the  members,  hearing  from  back  home, 
refused  to  follow  the  Governor's  lead,  and  the  effort  died.  The  14 
consolidation  laws  were  all  defeated  at  the  1922  election  by  an  average 
vote  of  379,871  to  256,296,  with  69%  voting. 

CALIFORNIA. — The  Big  Business  interests  of  California  have  been 
bitterly  opposed  to  the  I.  &  R.  and  in  every  legislature  since  1911  bills 
have  been  introduced  to  hamper  or  destroy  its  effi- 
TO  RESTRICT  ciency.  All  have  failed.  Twice  the  interests  have 
THE  I.  &  R.  proposed  modifications  by  Initiative  petition  which 

were  slaughtered  by  the  voters.  This  j'ear  these  re- 
actionary corporation  interests,  under  the  guise  of  a  so-called  ''Anti 
Single  Tax  League,"  proposed  a  measure  by  Initiative  petition  that 
measures  relating  to  taxation  should  require  15%  of  the  vote  of  the 
state  on  Initiative  petitions  instead  of  8%  as  now  obtains.  This  would 
have  proved  fatal.  It  was  an  anxious  moment,  since  the  voters  of  the 
state  had  become  disgusted  with  the  repeated  placing  of  the  single  tax 
upon  the  ballot  by  the  "Great  Adventure"  faction  of  the  Single  Taxers, 
although  defeated  by  constantly  increasing  majorities.  However,  under 
the  leadership  of  Dr.  John  R.  Haynes  of  Los  Angeles,  President  of  the 
"League  to  Protect  the  Initiative,"  assisted  by  the  State  Federation  of 
"Women's  Clubs,  the  State  League  of  Women  Voters,  the  Fed(<ration 
of  Labor,  and  Professor  Will  C.  Wood,  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction,  a  vigorous  campaign  was  conducted  and  the  measure  de- 
feated by  a  vote  of  378,661  to  258,009,  with  66%  voting. 

A  State  Budget  System  proposed  by  an  initiative  started  by  the  Com- 
monwealth Club  of  San  Francisco,  an  organization  of  business  and  pro- 
fessional men,  was  adopted  bv  a  vote  of  451,- 
COMMONWEALTH  074  to  183,147,  Avitli  66%  voting.  An  Absent 
CLUB  WINS  Voters  Amendment  proposed  by  the  legislature 

BUDGET  SYSTEM  was  carried,  as  were  also  two  amendments  pro- 
viding for  a  greater  degree  of  home  rule  for 
boroughs,  cities,  suburbs,  and  townships,  by  providing  a  mandatory  vote 
in  case  of  their  proposed  consolidation  with  a  larger  political  unit. 

MONTANA.— The  legislature  submitted  an  amendment  authorizing 
the  legislature  to  provide  a  plan  for  the  ccmsolidation  of  city  and  county 

'  8 


governments,  which  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  67,284  to  50,178,  with 
79%  of  the  voters  participating. 

ARKANSAS. — An  Initiative  amendment  proposing  a  changed  form 
of  the  existing  I.  &  R.  provision  of  the  constitution  was  defeated  by  a 
vote  of  61,112  to  38,690. 

This  covers  the  most  important  measures  relating  to  proposed  changes 
in  political  processes  with  tlie  exception  that  proposals  by  the  legislatures 
of  Missouri,  South  Dakota,  Utah  and  Washington,  to  increase  the  sal- 
aries of  the  members  of  the  state  legislatures,  usually  from  $5  to  $10 
a  day,  were  defeated  by  heavj^  majorities. 

TIJE  TAX  SYSTEM 

Next  to  political  processes,  taxation  processes,  judged  by  the  number 
of  measures  submitted,  seem  to  be  of  most  interest  to  the  legislatures 
and  the  people.  We  find  the  legislatures  reaching  out  for  new  methods 
of  raising  public  revenue,  reformers  striving  to  institute  new  systems, 
and  others  endeavoring  to  side-step  their  tax  burden. 

ARIZONA  voted  upon  an  amendment  submitted  by  the  legislature, 
raising  the  state  debt  limit  from  $350,000  to  4%  of  the  assessed  valua- 
tion of  the  state,  incidentally  providing  that  future  indebtedness  must 
be  authorized  by  a  majority  ''of  the  real  property  tax  payers  of  the 
state. ' '  Evidently  the  voters  liked  neither  the  idea  of  a  property  quali- 
fication for  voting  on  anything,  nor  the  prospect  of  new  bond  issues. 
The  measure  was  defeated  by  24,423  to  12,033,  with  75%  voting. 

CALIFORNIA  voters  rejected  an  initiative  measure  for  the  Single 
Tax  by  a  vote  of  515,590  to  124,403.  They  also  rejected  an  amendment 
by  the  legislature  proposing  the  Classified  Property  System  as  affect- 
ing intangible  propert}^,  by  a  vote  of  354,391  to  248,541. 

OHIO  voters  once  more  rejected  an  initiated  measure  sponsored  by 
Big  Business  men,  proposing  the  Classified  Property  System.  The  vote 
stood  720,237  NO  to  475,740  YES,  with  74%  voting. 

UTAH  rejected  a  legislative  amendment  for  the  Classified  Property 
System  by  a  vote  of  57,380  to  16,374.  The  voters  also,  by  a  vote  of 
68,824  to  3,837,  rejected  a  proposition  of  the  legislature  to  permit  the 
state  to  contract  debts  to  the  amount  of  2%  of  the  valuation  as  against 
the  11/2%  which  now  obtains. 

OREGON  defeated  the  Single  Tax  by  a  vote  of  132,021  to  39,231. 
An  Initiative  amendment  that  one-half  the  annual  expenses  of  the  state 
be  paid  by  levy  on  the  incomes  of  persons  and  corporations,  was  de- 
feated by  112,197  to  54,803.  Income  tax  proposals  were  also  defeated 
in  Colorado  and  in  Michigan. 

OKLAHOMA  and  ARKANSAS  defeated  Initiative  proposals  for  in- 
creases in  thfe  school  tax. 

WASHINGTON  approved  an  Initiative  statute  abolishing  the  poll  tax. 

9 


MONTANA  aj^proved  the  creation  of  a  new  board  with  powers  to 
adjust  inequalities  in  taxes  throughout  the  state. 

PUBLIC  UTILITIES 

CALIFORNIA  was  in  this  election  the  chief  battlegrou|id  of  the 
nation-wide  conflict  now  on  between  the  private  utility  interests  and  the 
forces  of  public  ownership.  Three  proposals  were  placed  upon  the  bal- 
lot, by  the  private  utility  interests,   designed  to  throttle  municipally 

owned  utilities.  The  first,  that  PUBLICLY 
TO  HAMPER  CITY-  OAvned  utilities  for  light,  power,  transporta- 
OWNED  UTILITIES      tion,  etc.,  should  be  taxed  as  are  PRIVATE 

utilities,  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  429,668  to 
258,666.  The  second,  abolishing  home  rule  and  putting  municipal  utili- 
ties under  the  regulation  of  the  State  Highway  Commission,  was  re- 
jected by  415,559  to  232,079.  The  third,  giviiag  the  State  Railroad 
Commission  exclusive  power  to  grant  franchises  for  municipal  and 
interurban  street  railroads  aiid  motor  vehicles,  and  to  regulate  the 
rates  thereof,  met  the  same  fate,  499,458  NO,  to  136,271  YES. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  proposal  to  issue  $500,000,000  state  bonds 
from  time  to  time  to  construct  a  comprehensive  state-wide  Hydro- 
electric System,  embracing  also  Irrigration  and 
STATE  Flood  Control,   initiated  by  an  influential  group 

HYDRO  SYSTEM  of  conservationists,  Avas  defeated  by  a  vote  of  597,- 
453  to  243,604,  with  87%  voting  thereon.  The 
conflict  on  this  measure  outstripped  every  other  interest  in  the  elec- 
tion, attracted  national  attention,  and  is  described  in  Bulletin  No.  80, 
issued  by  this  League  on  November  17,  1922. 

Corruption  in  opposition  to  the  measure  was  rife.  The  official  re- 
port of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  state  legislature  to  investigate  the 
matter,  states:  ''The  entire  campaign  against  the  Water  and  Power 
Act  w^as  financed  almost  entirely  by  half  a  dozen  Public  Utility  Com- 
panies."  The  committee  "found  it  impossible  to  ascertain  the  total 
expenditures  on  ])ropositions, ' '  but  reports  an  acknowledged  expendi- 
ture of  $501,605  against  the  Water  and  Power  Act,  .of  which  $117,306 
was  acknowledged  by  the  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company  of  San 
Francisco,,  to  have  spent  by  itself  alone  in  advertising  in  the  news- 
papers of  the  city  and  county  in  1922.  Only  a  few  newspapers  in  the 
state  favored  the  act.  It  found  that  the  methods  employed  had  the  ef- 
fect of  ''misleading  and  deceiving  the  voter."  It  states  that  the  high 
sounding  and  patriotic  title  "Greater  California  League"  was  "in  real- 
ity merely  the  name  under  which  Mr.  Eustace  Cullinan,  employed  by 
the  power  companies,  conducted  a  campaign  against  the  Water  and 
Power  Act."  It  contains  a  startling  statement  based  on  what  had  hap- 
pened— "Popidar  government  and  direct  legislation  have  no  greater 
menace  than  that  in  which  propaganda  on  electoral  matters  is  dissemi- 
nated by  paid  workers  in  lodge,  church,  cliih,  farm,  hureau,  unions,  or 
other  organizations,  under  the  guise  of  honest  and  disinterested  advice/' 

10 


SOUTH  D^VKOTA  progressives  initiated  a  statute  proposing  a  state- 
wide ''Hydro  System''  similar  to  that  proposed  in  California  and  now 
operating  in  Ontario,  Avhieli  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  106,409  to 
.10.563,  with  92%  voting.  An  initiative  State  Bank  proposition  similar 
to  that  of  North  Dakota  was  rejected  122,807  to  33,032. 

AVASHIXGTON. — An  act  of  the  legislature  passed  over  tlie  Gover- 
nor's veto  refiuiring  a  "certificate  of  necessity  and  convenience"  by  the 
State  Director  of  Public  Works  to  permit  a  new  public  service  utility 
to  be  established,  challenged  by  Referendum  petition,  was  rejected  by  a 
vote  of  154,905  to  64,800,  with  80%  voting. 

MICHIGAN. — An  amendment  by  the  legislature  for  the  incorporation 
of  i)orts  and  port  districts  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  230,060  to  221,543, 
Avith  78%  voting. 

EDUCATION  AND  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

WASHINGTON.— An  Initiative  proposal  backed  by  the  State  Parent 
Teachers  Association,  called  the  "Equalization  Measure,"  which  recog- 
nized the  equality  of  rights  of  rural  and  city  districts  to  a  fair  share 
of  the  state  school  fund,  and  to  provide  adequate  funds,  was  adopted 
by  a  vote  of  150,114  to  99,150,  with  91%  voting  thereon. 

ARKANSAS. — This  state  refu.sed  an  Initiative  proposal  to  increase 
the  tax  rate  for  school  purposes  and  North  Dakota  repealed  a  mini- 
mum teachers'  salaiy  law. 

OREGON. — This  state  was  the  battleground  of  a  spectacular  fight 
that  has  attracted  national  attention.  An  Initiative  law  or  act  for  the 
compulsory  attendance  of  all  school  children  between  the  ages  of  8 
and  16  at  the  public  schools,  alleged  to  have  been  promoted  by  the 
Ku  Klux  iClan,  and  aimed  at  private  denominational  schools,  especially 
Catholic,  was  adopted  by  the  close  vote  of  115,506  YES  to  103,685  NO, 
with  94%  voting  on  the  question.  The  law  will  be  tested  in  court.  A 
similar  proposition  initiated  in  Oklahoma,  was,  for  some  reason  I  have 
been  unable  to  ascertain,  not  placed  upon  the  ballot. 

ARIZONA. — In  this  state  large  business  and  corporation  interests 
organized  under  the  title  of  "The  Arizona  Industrial  Congress,"  in- 
itiated an  amendment  for  changes  in  the  education  system.  The  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Instruction,  and  evidently  the  people,  believed  the 
real  aim  was  to  give  these  interests  control  of  fijiancing  the  public 
schools,  to  materially  reduce  their  own  taxes,  and  over-centralize  the 
school  management.  The  vote  stood  14,212  YES  to  24,062  NO,  54% 
voting,  and  the  measure  was  defeated. 

OTHER  MEASURES 

PROHIBITION. — Strangely  enough,  only  three  measures  affecting 
the  well-known  Prohibition  question,  were  on  the  ballot  in  these  18 
states.     An  Enforcement  Act  passed  ])y  the  legislature  of  California 

11 


was  referred  b}'  the  Wets,  but  the  legislature  was  sustained  bv  a  vote 
of  445,976  to  411,133,  with  89%  voting. 

*  In  Massachusetts  also,  an  Enforcement  Act  was  challenged  by  Refer- 
endum but  was  defeated  427,840  to  323,964,  with  89%  voting. 

In  Ohio  the  Wets  initiated  an  amendment  that  no  beverage  containing 
2%%  of  alcohol  "by  weight"  should  be  unlawful;  permitting  pos- 
session of  such  liquor  in  the  home  for  personal  use  and  requiring  a 
search  warrant  of  Prohibition  agents.  The  effort  was  defeated  by  908,- 
522  to  719,050,  a  100%  vote,  exceeding  by  1,773  the  vote  cast  for  Gov- 
ernor. 

GOOD  ROADS 

ARIZONA  rejected  an  initiative  appeal  to  bond  the  state  for  $2,- 
500,000  for  a  state  highway  from  near  Phoenix  to  the  Colorado  River. 
130  miles  west, 

COLORADO  approved  an  initiative  road  bond  issue  of  $6,000,000  to 
be  redeemed  from  license  fees  of  motor  vehicles. 

MISSOURI  approved  a  legislative  amendment  to  maintain  the  state 
road  system  from  license  fees. 

REGULATION  OF  PROFESSIONS 

In  California  the  people  approved  by  substantial  majorities  of  over 
100,000,  initiative  proposals  to  establish  a  separate  state  board  of  ex- 
aminers for  both  the  chiropractic  and  osteopathic  phj'sicians.  They  re- 
jected an  act  referred  by  the  state  bankers  forbidding  unlicensed  per- 
sons to  furnish  legal  advice.  The  act  was  aimed  at  the  growing  practice 
of  bankers,  as  executors  of  estates,  to  draw  wills.  A  hot  fight  between 
the  bankers  and  lawyers'  associations  developed,  and  the  bankers  w^on. 

California  voters  also  rejected  an  initiated  anti-vivisection  statute, 
514,783  to  226,339,  with  77%  voting. 

Washington  voters  rejected  a  law,  passed  by  the  legislature  and  re- 
ferred by  petition,  which  allowed  parents  to  fordid  physical  examination 
of,  and  vaccination  of,  puhlic  school  children.  The  vote — 156,113  NO. 
and  96,874  YES,  92%  voting. 

SOLDIERS  WELFARE 

California  approved  one  bond  issue  assisting  War  Veterans  to  acquire 
homes,  defeated  another,  and  exempted  them  from  taxation. 

Oklahoma  by  a  majority  vote  approved  a  $50,000,000  bond  issue  for 
soldier  bonuses,  but  it  failed  because  the  constitution  requires  initiated 
measures  to  receive  a  "majority  of  all  votes  cast  in  the  election." 

Montana  approved  a  bond  issue  for  soldiers'  compensation. 

FARM  LOANS 

North  Dakota  adopted  an  initiated  act  increasing  from  $10,000,000 
to  $20,000,000,  the  amount  of  state  bonds  which  can  be  issued  for  farm 
loan  purposes.  The  original  act  was  a  creation  of  the  Nonpartisan 
League.    The  vote  was  99,866  YES;  58,186  NO;  87%  voting. 

12 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

Space  forbids  further  description  of  individual  measures.  The  Radi- 
cal and  the  Reactionary'  will  alike  be  alternately  pleased  or  disturbed 
with  the  vote.  It  is  the  habit  of  each  to  judge  the  worth  of  an  institu- 
tion or  a  method  by  its  effect  upon  his  pet  reform  or  aversion. 

The  political  scientist,  the  political  leader,  the  economist  and  the 
fundamental  democrat,  knows,  however,  that  civilizations  do  not  rise 
or  fall  for  any  single  reason.  These  will  be  concerned  not  only  with 
the  measures,  but  with  the  vitality  of  the  citizenship  disclosed  by  the 
whole  process.  These  I  trust  will  find  the  following  summaries  of 
value  and  for  them  this  section  of  the  Bulletin  has  been  especially 
prepared. 

The  official  election  returns,  from  which  the  data  is  taken,  have  at 
last  arrived,  and  that  is  the  chief  reason  for  the  lateness  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  this  Bulletin.  The  foUow- 
STATUS  AND  NUMBER  OF  ing  table  will  answer  the  question : 
MEASURES  SUBMITTED       What  states  have  the  I.   &  R.?     How 

long  in  use?  Which  have  effective  pro- 
visions? What  was  the  use  made  in  1922?  The  number  cf  measures 
submitted  are  given  and  classified  as  to  whether  submitted  by  Initiative, 
by  Referendum,  or  by  the  state  legislature. 


Character 

Adopted    State 

By  I. 

ByR. 

By  Leg. 

Total 

of  Am'd't 

1911 

Arizona  

2 

none 

9 

11 

Excellent^ 

1910 

Arkansas  

2 

none 

1 

3 

Poor 

1911 

California  

..     11 

3 

16 

30 

Excellent*^ 

1910 

Colorado  

5 

none 

5 

10 

Fair 

1918 

Massachusetts  .. 

.  none 

4 

1 

5 

Fair 

1908 

Maine    

.  none 

1 

none 

1 

Defective 

1915 

Maryland  *  ..^  ... 

.  none 

none 

5 

5 

Good 

1913 

Michigan  

.  none 

none . 

3 

3 

Fair 

1908 

Missouri    

2 

14 

3 

19 

Fair 

1905 

Montana   

1 

1 

2 

4 

Poor 

1905 

Nevada    

1 

none 

3 

4 

Defective 

1912 

Nebraska  

.  none 

4 

none 

4 

Fair 

1914 

North  Dakota.. 

3 

none 

1 

4 

Excellent^ 

1912 

Ohio  

.       3 

none 

none 

3 

Fair 

1902 

Oregon 

■1 

none 

2 

6 

Excellent  «-^ 

1907 

Oklahoma   

1 

none 

1 

2 

Defective 

1898 

South  Dakota .. 

0 

none 

4 

9 

Poor 

1917 

Utah    

.  none 

none 

3 

3 

Defective 

1912 

Washington    

2 

4 

3 

9 

Defective 

1911 

New  Mexico  *  .. 

.  none 

none 

none 

0 

Very  Poor 

42  31 

(Has  the  Referendum  only.) 

13 


62 


135 


ijecfe( 

/     Total 

34 

42 

25 

31 

38 

G2 

Of  18  states,  then,  having  both  the  Initiative  and  Referendum — 

4  used  both; 

9  used  the  Initiative  but  not  the  Referendum ; 

3  used  the  Referendum  but  not  the  Initiative; 

2  used  neither; 

All  state  legislatures  submitted  measures. 

This  comparison  varies  greatly  in  different  years,  due  of  course  to 

many  clianging  factors  in  the  states. 

AnnPTinx^Q         ^^^^^  only  deduction  to  be  liacl  from  the  numlier  of 
ANn  measures  adopted  or  rejected,  is  to  find  whether  the 

rfi?n?nrvjf\\rci       people  vote  blindlv  and  adopt  or  reject   overvthing 

KJiiJJi.C  llOAb       proposed  to  them.     Se  we  have: 

Adopted 

Proposed  by  Initia'tive  petitions 8 

Referred  by  Referendum  petitions 6 

Referred  by  the  state  legislatures 24 

38  97  135 

The  above  table  might  be  of  some  value  in  discovering  the'  tendency 
of  the  mass  mind,  if  it  were  true,  as  Conservatives  have  always  assured, 
that  only  Radicals- would  invoke  the  I.  &  R.,  or, 
RADICAL  OR  as  Radicals  have  assumed,  that  only  bad  laws  en- 

COXSERVATIVE  acted  by  the  legislatures  would  be  referred.  Prac- 
tical experience  has  proven  both  utterly  Avrong. 
Business  has  been  quick  to  carry  its  case  to  the  whole  electorate  as 
well  as  movements  claiming  to  represent  ''the  people."  Furthermore, 
business  is  often  progressive. 

There  are  109  measures  of  the  135  which  in  the  writer's  judgment 
clearly  required  the  voter  to  indicate  a  progressive  or  conservative 
t  endency .     From  this  viewpoint  it  turns  out  that : 

Of  22  progressive  Initiated  measures,  9  were  adopted  and  13  rejected. 
>    Of  14  reactionary  Initiated  measures,  14  were  rejected. 

Of  4  progressive  laws  challenged  by  Referendum,  4  were  enacted. 

Of  26  reactionary  laws  challenged  by  Referendum,  2  were  enacted 
and  24  rejected. 

Of  23  progressive  laws  submitted  by  legislatures,  16  were  enacted, 
7  rejected. 

Of  20  reactionary  laws  submitted  by  legislatures,  1  was  adopted,  19 
rejected. 

Since  a  vote  against  a  reactionary  law  is  a  progressive  vote,  we  may 
conclude  from  tlie  above  that  bv  and  large  the  people  voted  PROGRES- 
aSIYELY  86  times,  CONSERYATIYELY  23  times. 

But   what   proportion  of   tlie   electors  vote  upon   the  measures  sub- 

14 


mitted?  The  PERCENTAGE  given  in  connection  with  the  vote  on 
measures  described  was  arrived  at  by  comparing  the 
THE  SIZE  OF  vote  cast  for  and  against  each  measure  with  the  total 
THE  VOTE  ON  vote  cast  for  governor  or  other  officer  at  the  head  of 
MEASURES  the  ticket.     The  results  vary.     But  if  we  take  the 

highest  vote  cast  on  a  measure,  the  lowest  vote,  and 
the  average  cast  on  ALL  MEASURES  in  each  state,  the  following  per- 
centages emerge: 

State                   High  Low  Au.  State                High 

Arizona   75  50  64     Nebraska    83 

Arkansas  81  78  79     Nevada  65 

C^alifornia 89  59  70  o   North  Dakota. 96 

Colorado   ..: 77  50  59     Ohio 100 

Massachusetts  86  66  76     Oregon   94 

Maine  65  65  65     Oklahoma  96 

Marvland    70  56  58     South  Dakota 92 

Michigan  „ 86  78  82     Utah  64 

Missouri    74  62  61     Washington  94 

Montana 87  79  82  


Low 

.Ir. 

11 

80 

58 

b'l 

87 

92 

73 

82 

60 

73 

65 

80 

80 

86 

61 

63 

66 

81 

Totals  _.  82.2      66.7      73.1 

The  fact  that  around  75%  of  the  electors  will  vote  upon  all  measures 
has  been  demonstrated  so  often  by  returns  from  the  I.  &  R.  states,  that 
it  may  almost  be  taken  as  an  established  law  of  political  action. 

The  further  fact  is  that  before  the  Initiative  and  Referendiun  was 
introduced,  the  average  vote  upon  propositions  submitted  by  the  legis- 
latures stood  at  around  50%!     And  this  applied  to  all  the  states. 

Those  concerned  over  the  apathy  of  so  manj'  voters  are  invited  to 
take  note  of  that  50%  increase.  In  I.  &  R.  states  vital  issues  are  put 
in  the  running  by  petition  and  cannot  be  smothered.  The  voters  know 
their  will  cannot  be  balked — their  action  is  final — hence  their  interest. 
It  is  waste  eifort  to  berate  the  people  and  exhort  them  to  "  exercise  ^ 
their  citizenship  and  vote'';  if  they  can  accomplish  something  worth/ 
while,  they  will  vote. 

THE  EDUCATIONAL  EFFECT 

A  dozen  bulletins  like  this  could  easily  be  written  upon  the  educa- 
tional and  vitalizing  effect  of  these  Initiative  and  Referendum  cam- 
paigns upon  the  citizenship  of  a  state.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  it.  One 
must  see  it  in  operation  to  understand  its  psychology  and  significant 
tendency.  Politicians  do  not  like  it.  It  is  too  calm  and  critical  and 
distracts  attention  from  the  eternal  squabbling  over  personalities.  But 
the  people  delight  in  it — Men's  City  Clubs,  Boards  of  Trade  and  Com- 
mercial organizations,  and  all  sorts  of  Civic  Associations  and  Church 
Brotherhoods,  Women's  Clubs  and  Federations  of  Women's  Clubs  in" 
state  conventions,  Farm  Organizations  and  Labor  Organizations,  in  dis- 
trict councils,  in  local  meetings,  have  the  best  speakers  they  can  secure 

15 


to  present  "both  sides"  of  the  measures  that  are  on  the  ballot.  They 
are  debated  in  universities  ^nd  high  schools;  they  are  discussed  in  min- 
ing camps,  farm  houses,  fashionable  clubs,  and  street  corners. 

In  California,  for  example,  I  was  impressed  last  year  with  the  large 
number  of  people  in  audiences  of  this  sort  which  I  addressed  WHO 
HAD   BROUGHT   WITH    THEM   THE    PUBLICITY   PAMPHLET 
and  were  checking  up  on  me  as  I  talked — and  who  asked  most  intelli- 
'     gent  and  pointed  questions  in  the  ''question  period"  inevitably  fol- 
lowing. 
A      Engineers,  ministers,  university  professors,  bankers,  labor  and  farm 
Y^l^aders,  editors,  experts — both  men  and  women — conservative  and  radi- 
cal— who  constitute  the  intellectual  and  often  moral  leadership  in  a 
state,  whom  you  could  not  drag  into  a  political  campaign  with  a  team 
of  oxen,  WILL  GIVE  FREE  SERVICE  to  these  meetings.     And  no- 
where is  more  vigor  displayed  than  in   the  Women's  Organizations. 

It  is  a  truism  of  history  that  war  brings  reaction,  that  the  people, 
preoccupied,  mark  time,  and  conservatives  seize  the  opportunity  to 
improve  their  status  and  control.  Our  country  did  not  prove  an  ex- 
ception to  this  rule  in  the  late  war.  A  great  demand  for  direct  control 
of  politics  and  government  which  had  sprung  out  of  the  people  and 
had  been  espoused  and  thrust  into  the  forefront  of  national  politics 
in  1912  by  such  vigorous  personalities  as  Theodore  Roosevelt  and  Wood- 
row  Wilson,  was  held  in  abeyance  by  the  war  and  its  aftermath. 

The  Conservatives  of  1920  attempted  to  overthrow  the  achievements 
of  this  movement  and  return  to  the  political  and  economic  regime  of 
the  days  of  Mark  Hanna.  In  the  elections  of  1922  the  'people  were 
largely  on  the  defensive.  Wherever  the  Referendum  obtained  tliey  suc- 
cessfully defended  themselvs.  In  the  states  here  considered,  there  is 
a  clear,  intelligent  majority  favoring  DIRECT  POLITICAL  POWER 
IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  VOTERS. 

Since  1912,  however,  the  storm  center  has  shifted  from  the  political 
I  to  the  economic  field.  The  problems  are  grave.  The  people  are  not  clear 
as  to  solutions.  In  no  state  is  there  a  majority  definitely  united  on 
any  fundamental  program  of  economic  change.  The  1922  voter  played 
safe,  as  he  always  does  when  in  doubt,  and  voted  "NO"  on  radical 
proposals  of  a  fiscal  and  economic  nature,  which  is  the  best  thing  that 
can  happen  to  any  forward  movement,  however  sound,  because  no  im- 
portant law  can  be  enforced  until  it  has  behind  it  an  intelligent  and 
forceful  majority.  In  short,  the  voter  of  1922  refused  to  go  back- 
wards ;  he  did  not  know  what  road  to  take  forward,  so  he  marked  time. 
Protest  votes  since  prove  his  restlessness,  but  whether  he  has  reached 
a  constructive  conclusion  as  to  what  to  do,  is  doubtful. 


16 


AN  OMISSION 

There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  a  majority  of  the  nation  has  settled 
upon  Prohibition  as  a  permanent  policy.     Here  is  a  paragraph  acci- 
dentally omitted  from  tlie  voter's  murmurs  on  Page 
TO  THE  WETS    2.     ''I*  have  decided  this  matter.     You  forget  that 
So%  of  the  counties  were  dry  by  popular  vote  before 
the  Eighteenth  Amendment  was  passed,  or  Volstead  became  famous. 
Since  then  the  women  have  gotten  the  vote;  the  farmers  remain  dry, 
.and  the  great  industrial  managers  have  turned  against  you." 

To  the  writer,  the  outstanding  lesson  of  the  campaigns  here  sum- 
marized is  the  problem  of  publicity.    How  are  the  people  to  obtain  the 

facts,  pro  and  con,   on  which  to  base 
THE  BIG  LESSOX  judgment?     Not  alone  upon  measures, 

—RELIABLE  PUBLICITY      but  on  men,  on  parties,  on  all  the  tre- 
mendous   economic,    industrial,    politi- 
cal, moral  and  social  issues  confronting  them,  which  make  the  present 
the  most  critical  period  in  the  history  of  the  Republic  since  1850. 

The  Official  Publicity  Pamphlet,  with  the  text  of  measures  and  argu- 
ments for  and  against,  mailed  to  the  voters  direct,  used  in  several  states, 
is  of  tremendous  help,  and  suggests  the  way  out.  But  it  is  not  enough, 
and  arrives  only  once  in  two  years.  The  most  discriminating  voting  is 
done  in  these  states.  The  citizen  is  not  wholly  left  in  the  dark  and  de- 
pendent upon  newspapers,  politicians,  and  self-interested,  organized 
propaganda. 

And  let  the  average  voter  examine  his  annual  expenditure  for  maga- 
zines and  newspapers  which  try  to  tell  him  the  truth,  as  against  those 
which  entertain  him,  before  throwing  bricks  at  the  *  'kept  press. ' '  No  one 
forced  him  to  buy  red,  black,  yellow,  pink  or  blue  propaganda,  or  to 
invest  in  vacuity.     It  is  up  to  him. 

"Where  then  lies  the  hope  for  democracy?"  it  may  be  asked,  ''if 
Private  Interests,  by  capitalizing  the  people's  love  for  and  need  of  en- 
tertainment, are  to  dominate  the  press?"     The 
WHY  HOPE  answer  is  that  there  is  by  far  a  larger  mass  per- 

FOR  PROGRESS?      centage  of  thinking,  courageous,  and  acting  peo- 
ple today,  and  better  organized    than    at    any 
period  of  the  nation's  historj^     This  in  spite  of  the  movies.  Mutt  and 
Jeff,  the  divorce  scandal,  and  the  baseball  score. 

I  would  be  the  last  to  seem  facetious  over  our  need  of  better  educa- 
tion, but  I  find  a  majority  of  my  friends  afflicted  with  the  moron  com- 
plex, uncertain  as  to  whether  the  course  of  democratic  evolution  will 
prove  as  wise  as  themselves,  and  besides,  they  are  fearful  lest  the  people 
prove  too  liberal,  rather  than  too  conservative.  Hence  they  long  for  the 
guidenee  of  superior  minds. 

But  the  postulate  of  democracy  is  not  that  the  people  will  do  the 
ideal  thing,  or  even  the  thing  best  for  themselves,  but  that  in  the  long 
run  the}'  will  do  better  by  themselves  than  any  superior  governing 
class,  however  well  educated,  will  do  for  them.     Let  him  who  doubts 

17 


\ 


that  fight  it  out  "with  his  histories.  The  people  will  learn  the  art  of 
democracy  by  the  practice  of  democracj',  achieving  wisdom  by  their  own 
mistakes,  and  not  being  told  how.  The  educative  effect  and  the  civic 
courage  engendered  by  the  I.  &  K.  elections,  prove  them  our  best  Schools 
for  Citizenship,  and  a  thousand  times  more  valuable  than  the  old  style 
tussles  over  candidates  and  parties.  Their  results  lend  support  to 
Lincoln's  famous  phrase:  ''You  can't  fool  all  the  people  all  ihe  time." 
Nevertheless,  the  most  fundamental  problem  before  us  today  is  to 
find  an  adequate  method  of  getting  the  facts  to  the  folks.  It  is  needed 
quite  as  much  to  expose  demagogues  in  both  high  and  low  places,  and 
to  forestall  short-sighted  reforms,  as  to  prevent  stagnation  or  reaction. 
The  i^eople  are  getting  more  power.     More  knowledge  must  go  with  it. 


18 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 
or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg.  400,  Richnnond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(415)642-6233 
1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  NRLF 
Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days 

prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


DEC  2  5  1989 


JUN201996 


RECEIVED 


MAR  2  6  1996 


CIRCUUTION  DEPT. 


LD  2lA-50m-4,'59 
(A1724sl0)476B 


General  LiDf  ary     . 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 


Photomount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gay  lord  Bros. 

Makers 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PAT.  m  21.  1903 


£05b07si^a 


f>28H75 

i 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

,  f,-  -'(•- 


:'<^\ 


'■'■<\   Jir 


-v.;^t«;^; ■>.-•,->':  ^.,; . 

-V --^H 

&^^v.:^^^/:v  -^v 

'■^-■•-::M!i 

K-%i  ■^1*' ■■'-*' V--  *  ■■•• 

;,  --■■-■  , ,     ■  •  ^-3 

?i^  *  -  »*  ■*■:■-•::■   '  -;-  ■ 

■  '.'-'■"     ■  3 

mi$m^::t:^i 

t&C:^ 

mm^ 

^^j*>~v"-y  "•■ 

^^^HHSBHil 

BS^^"v^''^^r\ 

^^^^^^^^^^H 

^»;^^^AC-;^ 

^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

^Hn^^^.VjT^  " 

